Formosa Nympha
by Operatastic SuperSop
Summary: [on hold] A wood nymph, who had been friends with Daphne, makes the difficult decision to oppose the gods. When Apollo falls in love again, she's not the only one to experience the gods' wrath.
1. Laure

**disclaimer: **This whole thing is based off Ovid's telling of Daphne and Apollo. The nymph girl is mine. You won't learn her name until chapter 3. Warning; I have an incompetent amount of knowledge of mythology (I mean, I read the Oddysey, I'm reading Ovid, but that's about it), so if I don't know something, I'm learning it as I go. If I mess something up, don't hesitate to tell me so I can fix it.

**Chapter 1- _Laure_**

The wood nymph walked wearily in her mystical domain, the forest. She sighed as her soft eyes looked up at the glittering leaves above her.

It was this laurel tree that always made her sigh. This particular tree once was a free nymph as she, but the so-called "gods" above had interfered with that fate. It was a symbol for her, a symbol that screamed that none of the gods were worthy of praise. Her heart was bitter and torn and saddened by the sight of this one tree.

The nymph rested her hand upon the bark of the tree. She could still sense the strong spirit that inhabited its wood.

"Oh, Daphne," the nymph sighed.

The tree seemed to be reaching down to her with its leaves, but only succeeded in providing more shade. A few leaves fell lightly down.

"My friend," she began, and picked up a leaf on the ground that shone with unnatural beauty. She remembered how pretty her friend had been, how she had been the envy of the other forest nymphs before her unlucky transformation. "I know how the gods have wronged you. I also know that Apollo will be here soon, so I shall not stay."

At the sound of Apollo's name, the tree shook violently, and several perfect leaves fell down to the ground. She was sure it was Daphne shuddering, but then again, she was a tree. It could have been an animal in her branches, or the wind.

"I had to tell you of my final decision. I will not serve them. Those so-called omnipotent gods are not gods at all. They've wronged you. Who are they, to interfere with our otherwise blissful lives? Who are they, that they can waltz right in and try to steal our love, or manipulate our minds? And who are the Fates, the indifferent, cold Fates, that they may choose our path of life? No. I will serve no god, so long as they are these. If I could, I would disown my divinity, just so I would not have to be one of these that I hate."

The laurel tree was uncomfortably still, but of course, the tree was a tree, and no longer her nymph friend. The young nymph sighed, looking up at the tree, knowing what Daphne would say to what she just stated.

"Don't fret for me, my friend; I know what I'm getting myself into. I know my path, and it is not with the other gods. It can't be. I know our friends all desire to be virgins as you did, yet I can find no joy in that. I can also find no joy in men or love. I'm somewhere in between, Daphne, and it's a very lonely, confusing place."

A few leaves fell from the tree, and floated to the ground as though angels carried them all the way to the forest floor.

"Sometimes I can't tell if you're still human inside or not," the nymph said, sighing. A small strand of dark brown hair fell before her eyes, which she pushed back quickly. She had lost her headband yesterday, and ever since wondered how she would get along without it.

She suddenly heard the sound of creaking and horses, and saw that the forest was getting brighter.

"Prepare yourself; Apollo approaches."

The tree shuddered again, and the nymph fled the tree to the river, not wishing to have the same fate as Daphne. Yet, once she was far in the distance, she could not help but look back at the laurel tree with saddened eyes. She held the lone laurel leaf she had picked up in her white, but well-used hand.

"I won't forget you, my friend."

_--------------------------_

_laure: _laurel tree.


	2. Video vises tuum arborem

**A/N: **If any of my Latin grammar is wrong, tell me and I'll fix it.

**Chapter 2—_Video vises tuum arborem._**

The sun-god, Apollo, landed his bright, golden chariot on the mossy forest floor with slight difficulty, but not as much difficulty he had when he first began making these trips. He looked over to the laurel tree, and immediately, Eros' arrow began to have its effect kick in once more. Apollo hated Cupid for giving him this hopeless love, for making him love a tree, yet he also grudgingly and secretly thanked him for the love that had poisoned him down to the marrow of his bones. It was unfortunate that he, the god of medicine, could not cure his own love-sickness. The irony was humiliating.

He headed over to the laurel tree with a lover's bold conviction and hugged its bark. The tree shuddered, and more leaves fell.

"O, _laure_," he said, kissing the bark, "how I _love_ you! I wear my crown of your leaves upon my head with great honor."

The tree was still, and most frigidly so.

"Oh, _laure_, don't be so cold, so harsh—I am the sun-god, whose light pours out upon the earth, upon your leaves, making you even _more_ beautiful than you already were. I let the world make music, and I do it all for _you_."

The tree froze up even more.

"Oh, _laure_," the deluded god said, "_laure_, _laure_.. my _laure_..."

After wrapping himself around the tree and kissing its bark more, he gathered all its fallen leaves with care, and then left, looking longingly back onto the tree.

As he headed to the chariot, he heard an arrow shoot. He frowned.

"Hunters?" he said to himself, as though it was an unusual activity for hunters to frequent the woods.

Suddenly, his sister appeared, her hands on her hips, her bow slung over her shoulder and three arrows in her left hand. Apollo jumped at the sight of her and all the laurel leaves scattered on the ground. He frantically began to gather them all up.

"Yes, dear brother, hunters." She derisively watched him in his pathetic attempt to pick up leaves.

"_Video vises tuum arborem_," she sneered, crossing her arms.

"I hate it when you sneak up on me like that! One day, you will regret it!"

"Would you like to be shot with another arrow, _superbe_? I promise you, mine won't be as pleasant as the one Cupid hit you with."

That remark stung Apollo and he glared menacingly at his sister.

"Diana, I--"

She lifted up a perfect, powerful hand. "Spare me the comeback. We have problems."

He frowned, still feeling a little resentment towards her. "Problems?"

"Yes, Phoebus, problems. You certainly are daft."

"You'd better watch your tongue, for one day--just because you're a goddess does not mean--"

"I know you're an all-powerful god," she said mockingly, rolling her eyes in impatient glory. "Just come with me. Leave the leaves--"

"No! They are mine!"

Diana's eye twitched as she watched him continue to frantically pick up the scattered leaves. She then forcefully grabbed Apollo's arm and pulled him along.

"Wait, would you—stop, I—hey!!" he protested, having not finished picking up the leaves, and dropping all but three, which were definitely not enough to make a crown. A wind blew all the fallen leaves away. He tried to free himself from her grip, but she held fast and continued pulling him. He was more than irate.

"You little--"

"Shhh," she whispered harshly, throwing his arm to his side. "Love truly has made you pathetic. You're an embarrassment. Just follow me and listen, _lascive puer_."

Apollo glared at her. She would one day learn to regret her disrespect of him.

The two siblings were behind a large, thick bush. Diana pointed to a thin area and Apollo looked to see what was so problematic to her, annoyed and skeptical that anything was wrong.

The bush was neighboring a small, calm stream, which belonged to the river god, Peneus. Apollo did not at first notice anything, but then he saw her. On the opposite side of the stream was a young maiden, a forest nymph, he guessed; her bow was slung over her shoulder, and her quiver was full of bright, silvery, birch arrows. Her nearly white, but pale blue tunic was long and flowed gently and flatteringly on her frame. Her long brown hair fell perfectly and hung down in careless, beautiful strands. Her eyes were downcast and looking not particularly at anything, but Apollo guessed it was at her reflection she was staring. He only hoped that she was not like Narcissus and would not turn into a plant (that did seem to be a recent trend in beautiful forest nymphs he knew as of late). He could not see her eyes' color, much to his disappointment. She was sitting by the river, obviously in thought, gently caressing the water with her fingers.

"She's beautiful," Apollo breathed, his mouth gaping. Diana stepped on his foot spitefully. He began to yell in pain, but she swiftly clamped his mouth shut before he could make a sound, and glared into his eyes. It was slightly intimidating, so he just watched the nymph with a light sigh.

The nymph, to Apollo, did not look objectionable or problematic in any way. In fact, she seemed troubled herself, and now that he had been studying her silently for a little while, he noticed a sadness in the way she looked into the water, in the way she traced her fingers aimlessly on the river. He began to express this to his sister, but she glared at him again.

"Watch," she said fiercely, her eyes gleaming with anger. Apollo knew the quote about woman's scorn, and thus said nothing, though he wished to.

The nymph sighed, making Apollo lose his senses.

"Let me go talk to her. She seems so lonely, so forlorn."

"And you seem to be without a brain. You must listen. And what happened to your _precious tree_, that it is forgotten now that you see this little nymph?"

"Silence," he said defensively. The way she emphasized their insignificance was appalling to Apollo. He turned back to the nymph, who had begun to talk to herself aloud.

"...how I cannot even find joy in the river!" she cried, wiping her eyes and splashing the water in irritation. He had missed the moment she first began to cry. She curled her legs up under her chin and sobbed.

Apollo was trying to let his chivalric side come out, but was constantly restrained by Diana.

_Poor nymph!_ Apollo thought. He received another icy glare from Diana, who was feeling anything but sympathy for her, but at this point, he did not care.

The miserable nymph calmed down, and gently laid down on the earth, resting on her stomach. She held a little shining leaf she had picked up from the laurel tree before her, twirling it in her fingers. Apollo's heart jumped at the sight of that leaf, which was so obviously Daphne's, and then Apollo finally saw her eyes. They were the saddest, softest, most mysteriously clouded eyes he had ever seen. He began to fall in love with them. He sighed dreamily. Diana looked at him in disgust.

"Do you ever think about anything else?" Diana said.

"What?" he asked, snapping out of his dreamy stupor.

Diana rolled her eyes. "What do all men think about, on a regular basis, 24/7?"

"Well, what ideas are more noble than those of love?"

"Why don't you go ask your _tree_."

"_Quiet_!"

"Who's there?" interrupted a timid, broken, yet alert voice.

Diana gritted her teeth and put her hand over Apollo's mouth, who was about to respond and, worse, make a fool of himself. The tense silence lasted for at least a minute, but it was excruciating. Apollo and Diana even held their breath. Apollo burned inside to reach out to her, to comfort her; Diana burned inside to smite her brother, fighting the urge.

After a while, the nymph sighed, releasing the tension, still holding the laurel leaf.

"I cannot serve the gods," she mumbled, miserably letting go of the leaf and watching it fall in the river. She turned over and laid on her back. "I despise my plight. Where can I run, where they may not be? Where may I hide, that they won't follow? The wrath of the gods is cruel, and the blessings of the gods are only a show. Their false, condescendent beauty falls on this shallow river, and mocks all my soul! I can trust no man, no woman, no child, for these all serve the gods. I cannot be happy as they, accepting all they see and hear as true. Their piety is wasted on these powerless divinities."

Diana nudged Apollo's ribs. "See the problem now?"

"I'm sure she doesn't mean what she says," Apollo responded carefully, surprised by what the nymph had said. "She's just depressed, that's all. I could go talk to her if you would let me—"

"How did I become related to such an adulterous idiot? You fool; she hates the gods. She hates you, especially you, for what happened to Daphne."

"Well, that was not entirely my fault. I'm sure if she got to know me--"

"It was your fault, dear brother. You are the most selfish, arrogant--" she sighed, massaging her temples; she didn't want to be almost caught again by this little nymph. "You're impossible."

Suddenly, the two gods heard a song that had such beauty that was never heard before. Apollo looked over to the nymph, and saw she was singing.

"_Olim somnio flumenis_

_et in flumene, video me _

_et subito, sicut vitrum, confringit_

_cessitque adfluere; cesso esse."_

Once she finished her song, she sighed and stood. "_O, me miseram_," she shuddered. She shivered a little and looked to the sky. Seeing the sun was setting, she quickly dashed off into the forest.

Apollo was left with a longing in his heart for her, and he watched her leave.

"_Nympha, mane_--" he called out, but in vain. She was already long gone. He sighed. Who was she, who reminded him of Daphne? No, she was not Daphne; no one could replace her. Yet, she was different, special somehow...if he only knew her name! He--

"PHOEBUS!!!!"

He jumped, startled by such an earth-shaking address.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. Don't let a silly little _song_ deceive you...it wasn't even that good."

"You don't know what you're talking about. I'm the god of music, so I would know if it was good or not," he rebutted.

"You could be the god of acorns," she said, snapping an arrow she held in her angry hand in half. "It makes no difference. As long as you keep visiting _my_ woods to go see _your_ little tree, you're going to have to stop your random flights of fancy."

He sighed. "Well, what do you have against her?"

She blinked. "Did you not hear what she just said?"

"Yes."

"She hates the gods. She will not serve them. That, dear brother, includes you," she said, poking him painfully. He pushed her hand off.

"Calm down. I'll go talk to her, if that will make you feel better."

"I don't need you visiting two trees," she said spitefully. "If you go talk to her, you're not going without me. Don't roll your eyes at me. Night is falling, and you, little sun-god, will be lost without me. Let's just go home. When one questions our power, that questioning must be stopped, or else the people will cease to worship us. Come."

She began heading towards his chariot. She turned her head aside to see that he was still staring at the place where the little nymph had been. In aggravation, she grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"You truly are no better than a little boy, are you?"

"I wouldn't keep bringing that up, if I were you," he seethed, getting into his chariot. "That mouth of yours will one day get you in trouble."

"A lesson you should learn yourself," she said coolly, crossing her arms. Apollo, in silent anger, took the reins of his chariot, and gave them a clean and sharp crack.

--------------------------------------------------------

_Video vises tuum arborem: _I see you have seen your tree.

_superbe: _proud one, arrogant one.

_lascive puer: _insolent/naughty/mischievous boy. Apollo called Cupid this and made him angry, thereby earning himself a well shot love-inducing arrow. He fell in love with Daphne.

_O, me miseram:_ Oh, I am miserable

_Nympha, mane:_ Nymph, stay.

"_Olim somnio flumenis _"I once dreamed there was a river

_et in flumene, video me _And in the river, I saw myself

_et subito, sicut vitrum, confringit _And, suddenly, like glass it broke

_cessitque adfluere; cesso esse."_ :It ceased to flow; I ceased to be."

**R&R please**


	3. Amicus sum

**disclaimer: **All of the characters are mine except Apollo and Diana.

Thanks to **blackpen** and **AphroditeIncarnate** for reviewing!

**A/N: **Read and Review! I might even write you a little message if I think of anything to say, lol.

**Chapter 3-**_Amicus sum_

The nymph woke up, her eyes full of golden sunlight shining brightly through the trees and onto her pale skin. She lifted up a hand to shade her eyes.

_Go away, wretched, piercing sunlight, _she thought. The light seemed brighter than usual, but then again, it was morning. Everything seemed brighter than usual in the morning. She groaned, wishing she didn't have to get up.

Suddenly, she heard a stick crunch. She sat up immediately and squinted, still sleepy, into the woods. She then saw a blurred form of Celandia approaching in the distance, and her whole being filled with dread.

"Adara!" her irritated, sunshine-y voice called. "Adara, is that you?"

Adara groaned. Their meeting was inevitable.

"Adara!"

"Here I am," she said tiredly.

"It's about time you got up," Celandia said, finally reaching her. "Come on, you are going to be late."

"Late for what?" she said with a yawn, rubbing her eyes sleepily and standing up.

Celandia blinked, incredulity building. "For _what_? I can't _believe_ you! Diana is coming to hunt with us today! This is a very rare event!"

"Oh," Adara said, stretching.

"Is that all you can say??! 'Oh'??!!! Adara, this is our _goddess_! She won't--"

"I don't feel all that well, Celandia," she said, rubbing her temples, "I actually have a headache. I'm in no position to meet a goddess today."

"You're insane. Absolutely _insane_! She is _our_ _goddess_! How can you _say_ you aren't coming?!"

Adara kept her mouth shut and kept her thoughts to herself. Eventually, when Celandia saw that she was not going to get a response, she sighed.

"Well, Diana is going to know you're not there."

"She can't even remember my name."

"That was twelve years ago, when you were only two. I'm sure she knows who you are by now."

"She knew your name."

"That's beside the point."

"Celandia, please, I'm not feeling well," she stressed, burrowing her hands into her temples in an attempt to get the point across that she had a headache. "I'm sure any excuse will do, if the one I am giving you is not sufficient."

"But, Adara, I won't—I can't!—lie to a goddess."

Adara looked Celandia coldly in the eye, but said nothing.

"Why don't you just come? You're always by yourself, secluding yourself from the rest of us, ever since—" Celandia paused for a moment, considering whether she should bring it up again. She decided not to. "You just have to move on. Why don't you try to have some fun and forget about it, instead of dwelling on it every day?"

Adara continued to give her a cold eye. Celandia sighed.

"Alright, but I'm telling you, you're really missing out."

Celandia then disappeared into the forest, and Adara watched her go. Adara sighed, and headed in the opposite direction.

---

Obviously, the first reason she did not go was because she wanted to have nothing to do with the gods. Meeting Diana was not on her top priority list.

Yet, there was more to it. What Celandia said was true: she had been secluding herself. Why? Because she felt as though the others were blind to the iniquities of the gods. If the gods couldn't be pure, couldn't even follow their own laws, why should she humble herself before them? Why should she watch others humble themselves before them, and become sickened by it?

She had not gone to worship or sacrifice with the others ever since the laurel tree incident a year ago, nor had she attempted to make any type of contrition for it. Yet, the gods were everywhere, and that was punishment enough. She refused to succumb to them. How could she fall to their feet in praise after what they had done to Daphne? To her parents?

Her parents. That was something she had not thought of in a long time. She didn't even remember exactly what happened to them, just that one day a cloaked man came to her parents, and her parents went with him, and they never came back. She was told by Diana when she was two that they had disobeyed the gods. Being two, she accepted it. Yet, she never found out what their crime had been. It was probably the same one she was committing, now that she thought of it. It made sense. To prevent the corruption of the child, the corrupt parents were taken away. Yet, it couldn't--and didn't--stop Fate. Nothing can.

Daphne had been her best friend, aside from Celandia. The three of them had been very close. Before the incident with Apollo, Adara had dreamed of becoming a perpetual virgin, as Diana had done, as Daphne had recently succeeded in attaining from Peneus. Now, Adara wasn't even sure she wanted to live with the other nymphs. She wasn't even sure she wanted to be friends with Celandia. She was just unsure about everything.

The other nymphs sickened her, and it pained her heart because they had been, her whole life, her friends. She felt completely disconnected from them. It was a wretched feeling. Because of this, whenever they went hunting, she went and sat by the river or the laurel tree, alone. She knew she could not go on like this.

She had to get out of here.

_But where will I go?_ she thought. She sighed, and continued walking down the usual gnarled path to her destination.

---

"Remember, Phoebus," Diana said, garbed extra-splendidly today to impress the little nymphs, "don't lose your head."

"I should hope not," he replied, shouldering his bow and quiver of arrows. "A head is a very bad thing to lose."

Diana didn't laugh as her brother did at his own joke. She couldn't help but think that already this was not a good idea, but it was too late to say no. She figured that since the nymph would be with her (whatever her name was, she could never remember) on the hunting trip, she would be able to keep an eye on her and more importantly, on her dear brother.

"Well, good luck," she said, sighing and heading off into the woods with great speed and agility.

Apollo watched her, but only subconsciously. He was too busy thinking about that nameless nymph he would meet today. He then headed into the dark woods.

---

Adara sat under the shade of the laurel tree.

"I hate being alone," she said, familiar tears stinging her eyes. She wiped them off spitefully, but did not refrain from hiding how she felt. She had done that for too long.

She recalled the last meeting she had with Diana. It was so odd that she had to tell Diana her name. She was a goddess, and so she should have known. She had known everyone else's. It was odd. It was as if she had been excluded from all the things her friends were included in. She, as of late, had begun to see that all the wishes and desires she had had really weren't her own. They were her friends' and Diana's. They were all her puppets. That was not what she wanted. But what did she want, then? What was she looking for? There was nothing left to offer her.

"The Fates are so cruel," she said painfully, bitterly. "They could have chosen me to die young, or chosen me to be included, but instead, they have chosen a long, painful, sorrowful life for me. It seems all nonsensical. What is the point of giving me a painful life, while giving other gods blessed lives? What unlucky star was I forced to be born under? Oh!"

She cried non-stop, letting the tears fall and heal her inside. She hated feeling self-pity. Yet, she couldn't help but think that nothing mattered, that she should be able to get away with murder if she desired, since the gods did. But then the childish gods above would want revenge on her. Everything was being run on a system without justice.

_Why should the gods desire revenge on me_? she wondered. _Aren't they all-powerful? Why would they need to carry out vengeance on mortals? Or on other gods? What's their point?_

Suddenly, she heard a stick crunch. It surprised her so much, she fell backwards, even though she was already on the ground.

"Who's there?" she said, her heart racing.

She saw a man appear from around the other side of the tree. His build was powerful, which was supplemented with the bow and quiver slung over his shoulders. He also had a dagger sheathed on a leather belt around his waist. He had on animal skins, too. A hunter?

"Um," she said, embarrassedly wiping away the tears and pushing away the tangled hair that were veiling her face (how she wished that she could find her headband again!), "who are you?"

"_Amicus sum_," he said. He offered a hand to help her up, which in her embarrassment, she took.

"Why were you crying, _nympha_?"

"Oh," she said, blushing, "I.. really don't want to say, it's.. private."

_Great. Now you sound as needy as you look. Say something else. _

"--But I'm perfectly capable of handling it myself, thank you."

_Now you sound rude. _

"--But I could use company."

_Needy. _

"--But I--"

He laughed. She frowned.

"Excuse me," Adara said, putting her hands on her hips.

He stopped laughing. "I'm sorry, but I think you need to calm down a bit. I couldn't help but overhear how you hated being alone."

"Oh, well... I... it's rude to listen in on other people."

"I tried not to, but—forgive me—you were so loud."

Adara looked into his seemingly kind eyes that she could not trust, but wished she could. She suddenly felt tears coming to her own. She tried to hold them back, but she couldn't. She burst into tears, and covered her face in shame with her hands.

"Here, let me--"

"No!" she cried, taking a few steps back from his extended hand, then taking flight. "Get away from me, just leave me be!"

"But, _nympha_--"

It was too late. She was gone from sight. The man sighed, putting his extended hand gently to his heart.

Suddenly, a red-haired man, heavily armed, came up behind him.

"Excuse me, have you seen a nymph? Blue-white tunic, brown hair with golden highlights like the sun--"

"Eyes wet like the ocean? Yes."

The red-haired man's eyes beamed. "Which way did she go?"

"I don't think she wanted company," he said, starting to walk off.

"Come now, you must tell me," the red-haired man said, following.

"Why?" he said, turning around and boring his eyes right into him, his already powerful look looking more powerful than before.

"Uh..." he snapped out of his intimidation and tried to look taller than he was, which was not nearly as tall as this man was. "Because I am the sun-god, Apollo."

The man continued to glare at him. This was unusual. He was defying him. Apollo tried again.

"Did you hear what I just said? I am—"

"Apollo."

Apollo frowned.

"And I am—"

"A god? If you say so."

Apollo couldn't respond.

"She went into the woods," the powerful man said. "Now, if you'll excuse me--"

"This is no way to treat a god! You--"

The man gave him the most piercing glare. "I know _exactly_ where she is, but you should _not_ disturb her now. But I'll tell you what," he said, his eyes softening a little. "If you come to the river in three days at dawn and pick three white lilies and a red-black rose with thorns, you will see her, and you will be able to help her."

Apollo frowned. _He_ was the god with the oracle; who was this random man to prophesy?

"Who _are_ you?"

The man's eyes softened once more. _"Amicus sum,_ Apollo. We'll meet again, and soon."

The man then bowed to Apollo out of respect, and then headed off into the woods.

Apollo stood there, under the laurel tree, completely speechless and confused, his brow furrowed in confusion. He leaned against the tree in thought, occasionally looking into the woods to the place where the man had departed.

"Three days at dawn, three lilies and a black-red rose?" Apollo mumbled to himself, stroking his smooth and beardless chin. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

He then ceased to lean on his tree, and, still in thought, made his way out of the woods. He would not meet his little nymph today.

----------------

_amicus sum: _I am a friend

It just occurred to me that I never translated the title of the story for you: _Formosa Nympha: _Beautiful Nymph. (shrug) I didn't have a cool enough name, so I thought, "hey, '_omnia dicta fortior si dicta Latine'_" (all is said stronger if said in Latin), and therfore I have a lame title in a cool language. If I come up with a cooler name, I'll change it. Read and Review!


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